First Time That's Happened Since The End Of WWII

A Japanese pilot flew a restored Model 22 Zero over Japan for the first time since the end of WWII on Saturday. While there have been other Zero flights in Japanese airspace since the war ended, all had been flown by American pilots.

The pilot was 66-year-old Kazuaki Yanagida. He flew the airplane in a special demonstration over Tokyo Bay during the Red Bull Air Race. The newspaper The Asahi Shimbun reports that he made three passes over the bay.

The aircraft is owned by Japanese entrepreneur Masahide Ishizuka, 56, who keeps the Zero in the United States. It is one of only four airworthy examples of the aircraft known to exist, according Yanagida.

For the past 10 years, Ishizuka has been spearheading the Zero Homecoming Project, which hopes to have the aircraft flying at several locates in Japan. He said that the flights are "good opportunities to think about peace."

The website Sora News 24 reports that there were nearly 11,000 Zeros built during WWII. This particular airplane was found in New Guinea, where Ishizuka was residing at the time. It had been restored to an airworthy condition by its American owner. Ishizuka had originally be brokering a deal to return the plane to a museum in Japan, but when that fell through due to the 2008 financial crisis, he purchased the plane himself for just under $3 million. It was then that he launched the Zero Homecoming Project.

(Image from video posted to YouTube)

FMI: Original Report